


The Little Things

by tofadeawayagain



Category: Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal Series - J.M. Lee, The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 3,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28032549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tofadeawayagain/pseuds/tofadeawayagain
Summary: When you look back at life, the little things are what matter most. This is a collection of drabbles/explorations written for weekly writing sessions. Each drabble will be titled with the prompt, characters/ship, and any applicable warnings. Updates on Saturdays.
Relationships: Amri/Naia (Dark Crystal), Bellanji/Laesid (Dark Crystal), Deet/Rian (Dark Crystal), Gurjin/Rian (Dark Crystal), Gurjin/Seladon (Dark Crystal), Mira/Rian (Dark Crystal), Onica/Tavra (Dark Crystal)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 31





	1. Castaway

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Castaway. Ship: Tavra/Onica. Drabble date: August 29, 2020. No warnings.

Flurries of snow fell heavily from the skies surrounding Ha'rar, mixing with the sea spray and wind. Tavra’s eyes stung as she ran down the familiar path from the highroad toward the docks. She could hardly see, but it didn’t matter. She’d followed this road so many times that she didn’t need to see. She just had to feel her way there. She should have been there sooner, after a day like today.

The closer she got, the lighter the weight on her shoulders. The further she traveled from Ha’rar, the more it felt like she was going home.

The Sifa were busy – as she reached the first dock, Tavra heard ropes creaking in the wind, and mariners shouting to tighten lines or release a sail. The storm tonight was fierce, and if the boats didn’t clear the harbor before the ice started, they’d be trapped until the next thaw.

Onica’s ship was at the very end of the dock, still secured by a single tie-line. With a quick glance behind her to ensure the Paladins hadn’t caught up, Tavra stood near the railing and turned to search for her lover.

Her lover, who was hanging precariously from the rigging, salt water in her eyes that wasn’t from the sea.

“Come down from your Citadel to say goodbye, have you?” Onica yelled down at her, furiously tying knots around the rigging for the mainsail to secure it from the ravaging wind. Tavra kept her face neutral and, with a practiced hand, began to remove the tie-line from the dock. Onica continued to yell in frustration as she climbed down the rigging. “That’s right, do as your mother says and cut the line. Who cares if I get lost at sea, right?”

As the ship began to drift further from the dock, Tavra grabbed the railing and climbed over, running across the deck to meet Onica as she finally pulled her hands free of the tangle of wet rope. “I’m not cutting any line,” she said, her voice steady and sure.

Onica stared at her, skeptical, her red curls swirling around her face in the furious wind.

“I don’t care what Mother says,” Tavra assured her, reaching up to wipe the tear’s from Onica’s eyes, to hold her face. “I won’t cut ties with you, and I’d rather not with her, either, but… if that’s what she wants, I’ve made my choice. Now let’s cast off. I’ve had enough of the cold around here.”


	2. A Door Opens/Guiding Bolt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: A Door Opens/Guiding Bolt. Ship: Mira/Rian. Drabble Date: September 19, 2020. No warnings.

“A double shift?” Mira tries not to get her hopes up.

“Dusk ‘til dawn. And with the Captain, no less.”

Mira tries to look appropriately sympathetic, but as she watches her roommate gather her gear, she’s ecstatic. “Sounds rough, friend. I had a double with him a few weeks ago. It was a long night.”

Mira follows her roommate into the hallway to bid her goodbye. The sound of footsteps fades, and Mira grins as Rian pokes his head out of a shadowy alcove across the hall. She waves her hand at him, and he bolts across the hallway as she swings open the door to her room.

Once inside, she dissolves into a fit of giggles as Rian firmly closes the door and slides the lock into place. “She’s got a double with your father,” she tells him, laughing as Rian freezes. “Care to have a sleepover?”

“Seriously?” he asks as if he can’t believe his luck.

“Seriously.”

She adores that mischievous look of his as he pulls her close. “Sounds like fun.”


	3. Reasonable Doubt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stonegrot Week 2020, Pairing: Rian/Deet. Prompt: Brea plays matchmaker. Secondary Prompt: Reasonable Doubt. Drabble date: September 2, 2020. No warnings.

“I wish someone looked at me the way Rian looks at you,” Brea sighs. She tosses another stone off the cliff, delighting in the burst of color that results when the stone hits the sand below.

Deet’s ears drop and her cheeks flush. “He doesn’t look at me any special way!” She glances back toward the fire where he’s sitting with Kylan. Rian’s back is to her, and she quickly looks back out at the final sun setting over the desert.

Brea scoffs. “Yes, he does. It’s practically indecent.”

“Brea!” Deet protests. Then she pauses. “Wait – you want someone to look at you indecently?”

Brea smiles just a bit, the first one all evening, and ignores Deet’s question. “It’s either indecent or cute. I can’t decide.” She glances back over her shoulder and grins. “He’s looking now. It’s cute, this time.”

“I don’t believe you.” Deet quickly turns to look again, but Rian has turned away again. With a sidelong glance at Brea, she stares out at the desert and starts to braid some of the loose hair around her eyes. Has she been missing something?

* * *

Brea is still up when he returns to the campfire, waiting for the coals to die away. She raises an eyebrow at him as he sits down, and Rian pauses. “What?”

“You should just tell Deet you like her, you know.”

“No, I shouldn’t,” he says, scowling at the coals. “I don’t think she thinks of me that way,” he admits, glancing over his shoulder at the spot where Deet is sleeping. When he turns around, Brea is smirking at him. “What?” he demands again, wary this time.

“We all saw the way you two were looking at each other while we were singing,” she states.

“And?” he asks, feigning disinterest.

“And it’s very clear that she likes you!”

Rian glances back at Deet again, glad that she’s relaxed and safe from the Skeksis for the time being. “I don’t know. She’s very nice, she smiles at everyone.”

Gurjin groans from where he’s lying nearby, tucked into a bedroll between Naia and Kylan. “How are you this dense when it comes to girls?”

Rian looks at Brea. “I don’t believe you,” he says plainly.

“You’re made for each other,” she grumbles.


	4. Hold a Grudge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stonegrot Week 2020, Pairing: Rian/Deet. Prompt: A stolen moment. Secondary Prompt: Hold a grudge. Drabble date: September 2, 2020. No warnings.

She lands on a ledge just beyond a molten river of fire, and he’s out of her grip immediately and pressed tightly against the cave wall. She’s laughing at him, and he’d join her, but the hair on the back of his neck is still standing up from the unexpected fall.

“I’m never trusting you again!” he mumbles, even as she presses herself against him and raises on tiptoe to catch his lips.

She tries to wrap her arms around his torso, but he won’t move away from the safety of the wall.

“Don’t be such a Skybaby,” she teases.


	5. Rain/Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rain/kiss. Ship: Amri/Naia. Drabble date: December 19, 2020. Warnings: Book timeline - spoilers for Flames of the Dark Crystal.

She sits on the balcony of her mother’s chamber – her chamber, now – and watches the rain fall as she thinks about Amri.

Despite his teasing back in Stone-in-the-Wood, he’s been distant ever since they returned. She’s been busy, being present for her people and helping the newcomers to settle in. She’s spent time joining her family in grief, and through it all he’s stayed on the periphery. She’s not sure why – she’d thought they’d made their feelings clear…

There’s a knock behind her. She turns, ready to talk to yet another clan member or refugee – but instead, she smiles when she spots him leaning against the doorjamb. “Hi,” she says. She pushes back her insecurities and stands, meeting him in the center of the room. “You’ve been sticking to the shadows lately,” she tells him. “I thought maybe you changed your mind.”

“No!” It’s almost too quick of a response, and he blushes. “No, of course I didn’t,” he whispers, and she feels the weight of worry fall away. He shrugs. “I just didn’t want to get in the way.” He reaches for her but pauses halfway to her waist. Naia thinks it’s cute, the way he isn’t sure what to do with his hands.

She steps into his arms, wrapping hers around him and resting her head on his shoulder. “You’re never in the way,” she tells him, sincere. Amri grips her tight, and she feels warm and safe in his hold. She remembers what he said under the Glenfoot – remembers that to him, she’s not _maudra_ or Blue Flame Naia, but just herself. “I promised you soft-talk,” she reminds him.

But then his lips are finally, finally on hers, and she thinks the soft-talk can wait a little longer.


	6. Ghosts and Ghouls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ghosts and Ghouls. Characters: Kylan, SkekMal the Hunter (mentioned). Drabble date: October 31, 2020. Warnings: Death, decay, bodies, stream of consciousness, trauma.

Kylan shivers. The nest of blankets he’s made over the last three days never feels warm enough. His mother is close by, and so is the fireplace, but she’s not warm and he’s used all the wood. He tried to cut some more that morning, but the axe was buried too deep and his arms are too small. He thinks about going to the farm a few miles away to ask for some kindling. He thinks they always went to the east to get there, but then again, he never paid much attention. He might go in the wrong direction and get lost. If he gets lost, his father might get cross with him and his mother might worry. He doesn’t want her to worry. She is already worried enough, with his father outside. With the noises that came from the direction of the barn a few days ago. The day the ghoul came – no, he can’t think about that. She’s worried because his father hasn’t come back inside. He’s tried to get his father inside, out of the cold, but he is far too heavy. Besides, the birds try to peck him when he gets too close. It’s better inside, with his mother, even though she’s not warm. There’s a mess and it’s starting to stink, but it’s still home and he’s still got a nest of blankets that smell like all of them instead of like the blood and autumn leaves on the forest floor. The blankets aren’t warm enough, but he has no wood to make a fire, so they will have to do.


	7. The Whole Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: The Whole Truth. Ship: Amri/Naia. Drabble date: September 26, 2020. Note: This was written before I read Tides of the Dark Crystal - as such, please pardon the inaccuracy where the boat is concerned.

She’d demanded the truth. He doesn’t want to give it. Not here, anyway, not in front of all these people. It’s not something to be said in front of an audience.

“Let’s talk about it later,” he murmurs, tossing another log onto the fire.

Naia’s furious. “I don’t want to talk about it later. I want to talk about it right now.”

Amri tries his best to avoid looking at Gurjin, who is smirking knowingly at him, or at Kylan, who looks exasperated. Even Brea, who generally doesn’t pay much attention to this kind of nonsense, looks eager for his imminent humiliation.

At least Deethra looks concerned for him. He can always count on her to have his back.

“We should leave!” she whispers, looking back and forth from Gurjin to Rian.

“No, we shouldn’t,” Rian laughs.

“Not a chance,” Gurjin says, loud and clear.

Deet catches Amri’s eye and shrugs, her ears turning down in apology.

Naia ignores them, gesturing at Deet. “Deet hates the boat, and she’s staying here! Why in the name of Aughra are you insisting on going? You were sick for weeks last time. We’ll be fine without you.”

He takes a large gulp of ale to bolster himself and stands up, ignoring all the eyes on him as a blush creeps up his neck. “I won’t be.” It throws her off just enough for her to stop glaring, and he takes his chance. “I go where you go. I’d follow you anywhere. I don’t care about being seasick if it means I don’t have to miss you.”

Naia looks dumbstruck, and he walks away from the fire to a chorus of hoots and whistles.


	8. Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Flowers. Characters/Ship: Naia, Laesid/Bellanji. Drabble date: January 8, 2021. No warnings.

She’s not the kind of girl who likes flowers. She’s never been won over by pretty, soft things. She loves sogflowers because they remind her of home and because they are useful, but that’s as far as it goes. She isn’t delicate, and she isn’t fragile. She’s tough, through and through. She has to be if she hopes to fill even a portion of her mother’s shadow one day. She tries to imagine her mother giggling at a fresh bouquet, and she cannot do it.

Then, one morning, her father tucks a flower into her mother’s braid at the breakfast table. It’s quick, done with a sly wink and a smile. Laesid doesn’t fawn over it or over him – but there’s a glow to her all the same. A blush on her cheeks and a twinkle in her eye.

Naia wonders if she’ll ever find someone like that. Someone who makes her feel delicate, even when she isn’t. Someone who allows her to be soft, if even for a moment.


	9. Final Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Final sacrifice. Character: SkekTek. Drabble date: October 3, 2020. Warnings: draining/death.

SkekTek was disappointed, and not just in the Emperor, who was making a grave mistake this day. He’d expected the last of the Gelfling to fight back. He’d expected them to go like most of the others, kicking, screaming, and vibrant.

He strapped the two women into the chairs, and they accepted it. Tears ran down their faces, but they made no sound or struggle. They gazed at the Crystal willingly, and though their bodies writhed against the unnatural pull of essence leaving their bodies, he could tell that they were relieved.

After, he stared down into the bowl of essence, probably the last he’d ever see. He could still remember that first bowl, bright with promise.

This bowl was dim.


	10. Impromptu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Impromptu. Ship: Rian/Deet. Drabble date: January 16, 2021. No warnings.

“Come on, quick!” He laughs as they race through the underbrush. Insects fly past, buzzing in their ears, irritable at the disturbance in their previously quiet corner of the forest.

“Where are we going?”

Rian tugs her hand as he turns slightly to the left. “You’ll see soon enough.” Deet can hardly see in the bright sunset – still, she runs after him, trusting that he’ll hold on to her hand and that he’ll lead them over safe, dependable ground.

Suddenly, they come to a halt in front of a stack of boulders. It reminds Deet of Balentor back in Stone-in-the-Wood, but the rock here is placed more haphazardly. Rian crouches in front of a crevice in the stone, and Deet’s eyes go wide. “There’s a cave?”

He winks at her. “Follow me. Hurry.”

She drops to her knees and crawls after him through the damp dirt and the darkness. Dozens of questions flow through her mind. How did he find this place? Did he really explore this cave even without being able to see it? What’s inside?

Moments later, she is nearly blinded again as they emerge onto a ledge. There’s a cliff-face below, and in front of them, she can see the entire Skarith land. The Black River pushes to the snowcapped mountains in the north. She follows the glowing line of water with her eyes. The mountains, the plains, and even a hint of ocean on the horizon – all of it is bathed in the rose-gold light of the first sunset.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers, and he nods.

“I thought you’d like it.”

“Rian – can we stay here? Just until the other suns set?”

He leans back against the boulders and wraps an arm about her shoulder. “It’s pretty under the moons, too.”


	11. Prosperity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Prosperity. Character: SkekOk (mention). Drabble date: January 23, 2021. Warnings: None.

_“For thousands of trine, the gelfling maintained that they were the race “closest to Thra” – the lifeblood of Thra, the heart of the world. The Skeksis Lords cherished them, gave them culture and learning, and protected them as they protected the Crystal of Truth._

_Over time, the Crystal lost its light. With this darkening came the blight, an infection of the Crystal’s veins which worsened trine after trine. It threatened to destroy all Thra._

_It was discovered that the gelfling were the cause. They were not the stewards of Thra as they had for so long claimed, but rather a scourge upon the planet. Their overpopulation drained the Crystal of its life-giving essence, creating the blight and killing the world._

_The Skeksis Lords, ever faithful in their mission to protect Thra and the Crystal of Truth, returned the essence hoarded by the gelfling to the Crystal, restoring the balance and healing the world. Thus, the Age of Prosperity began, in which the Skeksis and the true races of Thra lived in perfect harmony, protectors and protected – eternal.”_

-Excerpt from _The True History of Thra_ , a scroll attributed to the Skeksis Lord SkekOk, recovered from the Crystal Castle’s library in trine 5 of the Age of Healing


	12. Connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Connections. Character: Spriton Farmer (Episode 3). Drabble date: January 30, 2021. Warnings: None.

He doesn’t believe her. Not when she tells him about the strange purple tint in the soil, and not when she tells him about the way the roots crumble when she pulls them from the ground. She must have done something wrong, he insists. There is no blight.

The Spriton have always been the closest to the land, he insists, the closest to Thra. They are connected to the soil. If Thra was ill, the Spriton would know. If there was truly a blight, the other farmers would say something about it. That’s rubbish, she thinks. Maudra Mera denies the blight even as the tithes dwindle, and the others follow her blindly. They could easily take a spade and turn the dirt and see the truth, but instead they keep it hidden beneath the layer of topsoil that allows them to continue as they always have. Her husband is no different than all the rest.

If they are connected to the soil, then they are blighted, too. Disconnected from reality. It’s not just her fields that are barren. She’s heard the chatter in the market at Stone-in-the-Wood, exchanged stories with other farmers from the foothills of the Claw Mountains.

The others will believe one day, when they are forced to leave their homesteads, or perhaps when there isn’t enough food left in their village. They will open their eyes and see the strange purple light. She hopes it won’t be too late.


	13. Waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Waves. Character: Kylan. Drabble date: October 17, 2020. Warnings: None.

Kylan hugged his knees to his chest, closing his eyes as the hot summer wind tumbled around him. He liked it up here, on the roof of Maudra Mera’s home. Up here, he could tune out the mindless chatter from the streets below. He could sketch what he saw or write about his studies, unbothered. When he was by himself, far away from the rest of the clan, he could just be.

He slowly opened his eyes, staring out over the endless waves of golden grasses. He wondered if the ocean looked like this, an expanse of solid color as far as his eyes could see. He hoped so. Kylan hated Sami Thicket, but he loved watching the grasses in the wind, dancing to Thra’s song. One day, he’d leave this place. He’d walk through the plains all the way to Cera-Na, get on a boat, and never look back.


	14. Game Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Game Face. Characters: Stonewood Clan. Drabble date: October 24, 2020. No warnings.

When they lost their home, they turned into ghosts. They wandered the woods as silent specters, and haunted abandoned halls. By daylight, they laid to rest in long forgotten caves or hollow tree roots. They became invisible or else became nothing at all.

They were honored to serve as Thra’s hands. They remembered the Crucible, hoped they could abandon the blade one day. They had no hearth, but their hearts beat as one.

That time had not arrived, so they descended on the lone jester, far from court, in a storm of brown and blue, of blade and burning fury.


	15. Reputation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Reputation. Character: Kylan. Drabble date: February 27, 2021. Warnings: None.

Kylan’s reputation precedes him. In every new town, Gelfling whisper behind their hands as he walks through the streets – “that’s the Song Teller from Stone-in-the-Wood” or “he’s the dream-stitcher – the one who sent us the truth on the wind” or “it’s him – the one who sees us”.

It’s still strange to him when people offer him the spare beds in their homes or invite him to share a meal. He was once an orphan from a frowned-upon union, and everyone in Sami Thicket had written him off as useless and soft. Now, people line up around the fires at night, asking him to dream-stitch words of good fortune into bits of leather, or asking if he’ll record their stories in his journals.

He’s long-since realized that everyone longs to be recognized, to be remembered. It isn’t a desire that was unique to him, alone and lost and aimless. These longings are universal, and they make the whole world kin. So, even when the Sisters are low in the sky and the Brothers’ light peeks over the horizon, he sits and learns their stories, so that one day, when the world is safe and theirs again, someone can read his words and remember their names.


	16. Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Kiss. Characters: Gelfling Clans. Drabble date: November 7, 2020. Warnings: None.

Children ran through the Drenchen hearth space, waving Grottan sizzle-spark sticks of every color in their hands. The scents the Vapran sweet pastries and spices from the Spriton sour squash filled the air, and people danced around fires burning in bright Sifan hues of blue and green. All around the square, gelfling were kissing their loved ones, laughing and sipping Stonewood ale as they celebrated the news from the north. Dousan xerics had seen it from afar - something had happened to the Crystal Castle during the Great Conjunction. The darkness had fallen away. The dark night was finally over.


	17. Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Music. Characters: The Sanctuary Tree. Drabble date: November 11, 2020. Warnings: None.

The song is one he’s always known, and yet it’s changed. He hears a single note, a dissonance infecting the melody. It’s too close, rubbing against the others. It’s the sound of a bowstring breaking, or the sound of metal on bone. The world does not sing around him. Instead, she groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to beingheretoo for figuring out the perspective on this one... I had no clue which "character" this was when I wrote it, but love this sad, sad tree.


	18. You Can't Be Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: You Can't Be Here. Ship: Rian/Gurjan. Drabble date: November 11, 2020. Warnings: Implied sexytimes.

“What are you doing?” Gurjin hisses. It’s the middle of the night and he’s suddenly freezing. His blanket is on the floor – an entirely useful place for it – and Rian is crawling into his bed, bare-chested and acting like it’s midsummer.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Rian fires back. He lies on his side, props his head up on his hand, and grins, reaching for the hem of Gurjin’s nightshirt. “I can’t believe you still wear this much to bed. It’s endearing.”

Gurjin pushes his shoulder, flattening him against the bed as he snatches the blanket off the floor and spreads it back over the two of them, where it belongs. “It’s not endearing. It’s smart. It’s bloody freezing.”

“It’s not freezing. You’re just cold-blooded, whereas I run hot.” Rian snickers and reaches for his shirt again. Gurjin groans, but allows him to remove it.

“I may have gills, but I’m not cold-blooded,” he grumbles, pulling Rian against his chest as soon as the shirt clears his head. He doesn’t argue about Rian running hot, though. The other man feels like fire against his chest, a welcome warmth. He basks in it for a moment, then shoots backwards. “How are you here? You can’t be here! Didn’t you go to Sami Thicket for the tithing?”

Rian smirks and pulls him close, trailing a hand down his chest. Their lips meet, and Gurjin is hyperaware of Rian’s hand in his locks, of the silence in the room, of the feeling of Rian’s tongue dancing against his. He shivers again, this time for an entirely different reason. “I saw that you had a night off and I switched with Tolyn. There’s always the next tithe.” Rian shrugs, his fingers playing at the waist of Gurjin’s pants, a facetious grin on his face. “I’d rather be here to keep you warm.”


End file.
